*NOVEMBER CONTEST* -- Character Building

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jst5150

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WELCOME to the best contest on AW! Here's the Quick Summary:

Who: You!
What: Character Building Contest
Where: Absolute Write Dot Com Forums
When: Now through 8:45 p.m., Monday, Nov. 19; Judging Nov. 19-22; winners announced Nov. 23


CONTEST
The MCL Character Building Contest

PREMISE
Use the information provided below to build a character. The final product should be a living, breathing human being, built on the premise we provide below. When writing the passage, details matter, both in physical description and personal history. The end result should read like a passage from a book; not from a police blotter. It should flow. It should carry the reader through a series of human events. It should read as though it were pulled from a book. As you might have gathered, this is an exercise to help you build your writing chops with an emphasis on character creation and development.


All that said, the following should be used to write your entry:
"Brenda Karricker is a ranch hand in Montana who has spent the last three seasons working the 99ers Ranch outside of Butte. No one's sure how or why Brenda traveled from Maryland to Montana, however, they are all sure this mother of three and former investment banker left plenty behind to come work here."
LENGTH
No less than 500 but no more than 1,000 words

DEADLINE

Entries will be taken from now until 8:45 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 19. We'll judge the entries based on all the usual criteria. However, we're looking to you to build this character from the word clay we've handed you. Goal is to write that descriptor as though it would be published.
FIRST PRIZE
  • A new copy of Frank Miller’s graphic novel “300” upon which the movie was based
  • A black "Air Force Reserve" T-shirt in your size
  • A deep blue "Air Force Reserve" Coffee Mug
  • Three fantastic "Air Force Reserve" executive pens
  • First-place certificate
SECOND PRIZE


  • An Air Force Reserve Coffee Mug
  • Second-Place Certificate
THIRD PRIZE
  • A white Air Force Reserve T-Shirt
  • Third-Place Certificate
HOW TO SUBMIT
Send submissions to jst5150 via Private Message. DO NOT POST THEM HERE. Once all the submissions are received, they will be posted anonymously in one thread, with the premise of the character leading off. Again, send submissions via PM directly to jst5150.

JUDGING
Judging will be done, as always, by the AW community. Voters are asked to pick the Top 3, in order, by number. Voters should send their votes in a Private Message to me. Votes must be received by 8:45 p.m. EST, Thursday, Nov. 22. (Note: We may also have a special celebrity guest judge helping out … I don’t want to jinx it. However, that person may help judge the entries as well ... more to come.

ETCETERA
In addition to the submissions thread, the contest will also have a discussion thread for AW to discuss each anonymous entry.
For more information, please PM jst5150 for more.

Ready? Get writing!
 

Maryn

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I almost never even look at contest stuff, here or elsewhere, but I'm actually thinking about this one...

Maryn, whose last foray into contests won her some POD novels she didn't want and could have written better
 

KTC

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I could kiss you, Jason, but then...you know, it would be all awkward and all. And people would talk. And, who knows...the squirrel may even get jealous? There are so many factors involved here...so I will just say it again>>>YOU ROCK. Great contest. Thanks for the time it will take you to pull it off.
 

CaroGirl

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Ooo, fun! I think I'm going to give this one a go. Thanks Jason!
 

nerds

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Are you serious about the Air Force prizes? Seriously. Really? I love the USAF as much as I love cowboys.

(I would have entered anyway, but, KEWL prizes. Not that I'll win anything, but I'll still give it a go.)

Thank you for setting this up!

:snoopy:
 

jst5150

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Are you serious about the Air Force prizes? Seriously. Really? I love the USAF as much as I love cowboys.

You bet. And while I;m not sure how much you love Cowboys, I would tell you these are all high-quality items and well worth sporting at picnics, bar mitzvahs and the occasional corporate takeover!

Start writing and thanks for your support!

jt
 

nerds

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You bet. And while I'm not sure how much you love Cowboys, I would tell you these are all high-quality items and well worth sporting at picnics, bar mitzvahs and the occasional corporate takeover!


I really, really love cowboys. Coincidentally, I was just planning a mongo corporate takeover, but that's set aside today to work on this story challenge.

:hat:
 

kdnxdr

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I was just discussing writing with a friend and made the statement that I knew my lack of ability to create persona would always limit me as a writer. In my 2 novels that I'm semi-working on, my people are very one dimensional.

Thank you, Jason for the fantastic impetus to challenge myself!

Here goes!
 

jst5150

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Bumping this as we draw closer to the deadline! Good morning and be sure to enter!
 

Maryn

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FWIW, I've written something for this contest but will surely tweak and otherwise mess with it until the last possible moment, because I'm like that. So you'll have at least one entry.

Question: If I (or all of us) have a moment of inspiration, can we submit more than one entry?

Maryn, whose house is drafty because the door's open to inspiration
 

jst5150

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Once again, a bump and a reminder:

  • this is a great crop of prizes
  • this is a challenging bit of writing
  • this is the best contest in AW, so ENTER!
Nine days until deadline!
 

Maryn

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Please send The Muse around ASAP. Don't forget to tell her I'm in D.C. for the weekend and the best time to drop in might be in the car for the long drive back.

I don't know about other people, but I can go on long flights of fancy in the car.

Maryn, Navigator and Sleeper
 

jst5150

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Today's bump -- just SIX (6) days to get me an entry. Thanks to those who have sent entries in!
 

Maryn

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Oh, good, mine won't be the only one, you all forced to give miserable work a prize because you feel like you have to declare a winner even though the entry was wretched...

Maryn, grinning
 

qdsb

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LOL, Maryn!

Hey, Jason...How many entries do you have now?
 

jst5150

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I believe I count 4 now ... I'd LOVE to have 7-10.
 

Maryn

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I'm workin' on a second idea, but it's not quite coming together in a way that meets the requirements. It wants to turn into a tidy little gotcha, complete in itself rather than something you might find in a book. But hey, I'm having fun, and that's why you created this contest, that I might amuse myself, right?

Oh.

Never mind.

Maryn, winking
 

qdsb

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Come on, people!!!! I love a good contest, but I'm with Maryn...It's no fun if there are winners by default.

(And I don't want to be the only loser.)
 

jst5150

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Just a reminder -- four (4) VERY good entries for this contest. I'm HIGHLY encouraging you to take an hour or two, sketch out this character and make an entry. Just FIVE (5) days remain!
 

nerds

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Maybe, hmmmm, I don't know where, if any place, would be okay to post about the contest, but maybe in Novel Writing? I'm not sure everyone scrolls down this far on the AW front page - there are so many places to get waylaid along the way. Wouldn't some of the novelists up there have some interest? Perhaps? Just sayin'. I'm just not sure all that many people know about the contest. But I could be wrong. And possibly some Newbies would be interested, perhaps a word in newbieworld.
 

qdsb

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Maybe, hmmmm, I don't know where, if any place, would be okay to post about the contest, but maybe in Novel Writing? I'm not sure everyone scrolls down this far on the AW front page - there are so many places to get waylaid along the way. Wouldn't some of the novelists up there have some interest? Perhaps? Just sayin'. I'm just not sure all that many people know about the contest. But I could be wrong. And possibly some Newbies would be interested, perhaps a word in newbieworld.


I was wondering the same thing.

Are we allowed to advertise this contest on other threads?
 

jst5150

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GREAT suggestion. I just made a post on the novels thread. It's in my sig block. If you folks would like to evangelize the cause, I'm all for it! Extra Scooby snacks and ovaltine after you're through. :)
 

nerds

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I was wondering the same thing.

Are we allowed to advertise this contest on other threads?


I had it in my sigline with a link to the rules for several days, but it didn't do much, apparently. I know that quite a few people tune out the siggies, due to perceived general info overload in them. They're trying to read the post, not the siggie. In fairness, as artful and fun as they are, I tend to do the same - the more stuff that's there in the sigline, the more I tune it out because it's too much visual distraction for me.

But now we can go promote this one in Novel Writing, YAY!
I'm guessing it's always best to ask a Mod first though, to answer your question.
 
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Maryn

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Oh, thanks a lot! [<--dripping sarcasm] Now instead of competing with the handful who found this thread, I'll be competing with many more!

Maryn, her dreams of T-shirt ownership dashed
 

c.e.lawson

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Did you say first prize also included Gerard Butler reading Miller's graphic novel to the winner over candlelight and a glass of rare vintage cabernet?

If so, then I'll finish polishing up my 74 entries ASAP.

Thanks much,

c.e.
 
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